Nursing bottle holder



p 1955 E. SCHWEIKERT 2,717,753

NURSING BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Sept. 25, 1953 I INVENTO ji 9 5 5/7766 a Schwe/ke 45 BY 5 %77Z0vzazq)@mmoz w United States Patent NURSING-BOTTLE-HOLDER Ernest Schweikert, Jackson-Heights, N. Y.

Application September 25, 1953, Serial No. 382,337

1 Claim. ,(Cl. 248-106) This invention relates to nursing bottle holders and more particularly to an'a'djustablebottle holder adapted to support a nursing bottle above an infant in proper position for comfortable nursing from the bottle.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved nursing bottle holder whichcanbe supported on a mattress or other horizontal support to extend over an infant reclining on the, support and support a nursing bottle above the infant in proper position for comfortable nursing; which is adjustable for use with infants of different sizes and resiliently ,engagesthe nursingbottle so that the'bottle canbe easily adjusted to the most comfortable and convenient-nursing position; which is frictionally held in selected positions of adjustment; which istadapted for manufacture from synthetic resin'plastic materials or from a combination of plastic materials and metal wire; and which is simple-and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, easy, safe and convenient to use, andneat and, attractivein appearance.

Other objects and advantages will'become apparent from a consideration of the followingrdescription and the appended claim in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a nursing bottle holder illustrative of the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective exploded view of a resilient saddle constituting an operative component of the holder;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view on an enlarged scale on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse cross sectional view on an enlarged scale on the line 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the holder supporting a nursing bottle in operative position relative to an infant nursing from the bottle; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of saddle such as that illustrated in Figure 2.

With continued reference to the drawing, the nursing bottle holder comprises a U-shaped frame 10 of a size and shape to extend over and above the chest of an infant reclining on a substantially horizontal support with the ends of the frame resting on the support at the respectively opposite sides of the infant, as illustrated in Figure 5. The holder further includes arms or braces 11 and 12 extending one from each end of the frame 10 and a saddle, generally indicated at 14, pivotally mounted on the frame 10 medially of the length of the frame.

In the construction illustrated the U-shaped frame 10 and the arms 11 and 12 are each formed of a section of heavy metal wire, as indicated at 15 in Figure 4, and a tubular covering, as indicated at 16, of a resiliently compressible synthetic resin material encasing the Wire core.

The arms 11 and 12 are pivotally connected to the ends of the frame 10 for friction-resisted angular movement relative to the frame about an axis extending between the ends of the frame by hinge members, generally indicated at 17 and 18.

The hinge members 17 and 18, as illustrated in detail 2,717,753 Patented Sept. 13, .1955

in the case of the hinge member 18 in Figure 3,.each comprise a spherical body of a suitable synthetic resin .material includingtwo separate portions 20 and 21 of hemispherical shape disposed with their flat faces in abutting engagement. The two portions 20 and 21 are provvidedwith bores 22 and 23 the center lines of which are from the flat facesof the corresponding hemispherical portions of the hinge member, as indicated at 24 and 25 and when the hemispherical portions or elements are disposed with their flat faces juxtaposed, the bores 22. and 23 constitute a continuous bore extending coaxia'lly through the hinge member. Rivet26 extends through the bores 22 and '23 and has on one end a head27 received in the countersink at the outer end of one of these bores, the otherend of therivet being peened or upset to provide an enlargement or head received in the countersink at the outer end of the other bore. Therivet holdsthe elements 20 and 21 together with suflicient force so that they, can be rotated relative to each other about thev axis ofthe connecting rivet only by overcoming a predetermined amount of frictional resistance. The hemispherical hinge portions or elements 29 and 21are provided with blind bores 28 and 29 respectively which are spaced'from the fiat surfaces of the corresponding elements and have their longitudinal center lines substantially perpendicular ,to the longitudinal center lines or axes of thercorresponding bores 22 and 23 which receivethe rivet or hingeipin 26. The ends of the frame 10 are press fittedrinto the blind bores in thelouter hemisphericalrportions orrelements of the hinges 17 and 18 and the arms 11 and 12 have-their ends adjacent the corresponding ends of the framepress fitted into the blind bores in the inner elements of the hinge structures so that the arms are pivotally connected to the corresponding ends of the frame for frictionally-resisted angular movement relative to the frame about an axis which extends between the ends of the frame and includes the longitudinal center lines of the two rivets or hinge pins 26 and 26.

The arms 11 and 12 are longitudinally curved and convexly opposed to each other so that, while their portions adjacent the hinges 17 and 18 are substantially parallel to each other, the portions of these arms remote from the hinges diverge relative to each other, The center lines of the arms are substantially in a plane which includes or is parallel to the common axis of the hinges 17 and 18 so that this curvature increases the stability of the bottle holder when the bottle holder rests on a flexible support, such as a mattress.

Knobs or balls 30 and 31 are mounted on the arms 11 and 12 respectively at the ends of these arms remote from the hinges 17 and 18 to cover the distal ends of the arms and eliminate any danger of injury to an infant by coming in contact with the ends of the arms.

The saddle 14 comprises a U-shaped clip 32 having a flat and substantially straight intermediate portion 33 having apertures 34 and 35 spaced apart longitudinally thereof and legs 36 and 37 extending from the same side of the intermediate portion 33 at the respectively opposite ends of the intermediate portion and convergently disposed relative to each other. These clips are longitudinally curved and convexly opposed to each other to frictionally engage the sides of a nursing bottle 38 disposed between the legs of the clip to firmly hold the bottle in the clip while permitting a limited freedom of angular adjustment of the bottle relative to the clip. The saddle also includes a bracket-shaped base 40 having a flat intermediate portion 41 provided with apertures 42 and 43 spaced apart longitudinally thereof and apertured ears 44 and 45 extending perpendicularly from the same side of the intermediate portion 41 one at each end of the intermediate portion. The intermediate portion 41 of the base is substantially equal in length to the intermediate portion 33 of the clip and the two intermediate portions are rigidly secured together by suitable means, such as the rivets 46 and 47 extending through the apertures 34 and 35 in the intermediate portion of the clip and the corresponding apertures 42 and 43 in the intermediate portion of the base. The clip and the base are preferably formed of strips of suitable resilient synthetic resin material and the intermediate portion of the frame 19 extends through the apertures in the ears 44 and 45 of the base so that the saddle is pivotally mounted on the frame medially of the length of the frame for pivotal movement about an axis which is substantially co-incident with the longitudinal center line of the intermediate portion of the frame 10 and spaced from and parallel to the axis of the hinges 17 and 18. Pivotal movement of the saddle about the intermediate portion of the frame is frictionally resisted by the engagement of the cover of the frame with the bracket ears 44 and 45 and with the adjacent surface of the intermediate portion of the bracket.

In the modified saddle arrangement shown in Figure 6, the shape and construction is substantially the same as that shown in Figure 2 and described above except that in the modified arrangement the saddle is of unitary construction formed by a suitable molding operation as a single piece. .This modified saddle is designated by the reference numeral 14' and the components thereof by primed reference numerals corresponding to the reference numerals used in the Figure 2.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative of the invention and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim is, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

A nursing bottle holder comprising a U-shaped frame of a size to extend over an infants chest, arms extending one from each end of said frame, means connecting said arms to the ends of said frame for frictionally resisted freedom of angular movement of said arms relative to said frame about an axis extending between the ends of said frame, and a saddle mounted on said frame medially of the length thereof for frictionally resisted pivotal movement about an axis spaced from and substantially parallel to the first-mentioned axis and adapted to resiliently engage a nursing bottle and support the nursing bottle on the frame, said means connecting said arms to said frame comprising hinges each of Which includes hemispherical members disposed with their fiat faces in abutting engagement and provided with bores extending therethrough centrally of and perpendicular to said flat faces, and a hinge pin extending through said bores and pressing the flat faces of said hemispherical members together so that said members can be rotated relative to each other only by overcoming frictional resistance therebetween, each end of said frame being secured to one hemispherical member of the corresponding hinge and each arm being secured at one end to the other hemispherical member of the hinge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,287,125 Smith Dec. 10, 1918 2,481,773 Nelson Sept. 13, 1949 2,552,921 Anderson May 15, 1951 2,638,297 Weinberger May 12, 1953 2,647,714 Drill Aug. 4, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 352,428 France of 1905 

